Who Wrote The Bible?

by Friedman, Richard Elliott

• ISBN13: 9780060630355
• ISBN10: 0060630353
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-29
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

"It is a strange fact that we have never known with certainty who produced the book that has played such a central role in our civilization," writes Friedman, a foremost Bible scholar. From this point he begins an investigation and analysis that reads as compellingly as a good detective story. Focusing on the central books of the Old Testament--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy--he draws upon biblical and archaeological evidence to make a convincing argument for the identities of their authors. In the process he paints a vivid picture of the world of the Bible--its politics, history, and personalities. The result is a marvel of scholarship that sheds a new and enriching light on our understanding of the Bible as literature, history, and sacred text.

Table of Contents

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION	9	(4)
PREFACE	13	(2)
INTRODUCTION: Who Wrote the Bible?	15	(18)
CHAPTER 1 The World That Produced the Bible: 1200-722 B.C.	33	(17)
CHAPTER 2 J and E	50	(20)
CHAPTER 3 Two Kingdoms, Two Writers	70	(19)
CHAPTER 4 The World That Produced the Bible: 722-587 B.C.	89	(12)
CHAPTER 5 In the Court of King Josiah	101	(16)
CHAPTER 6 D	117	(19)
CHAPTER 7 A Priest in Exile	136	(14)
CHAPTER 8 The World That Produced the Bible: 587-400 B.C.	150	(11)
CHAPTER 9 A Brilliant Mistake	161	(13)
CHAPTER 10 The Sacred Text	174	(14)
CHAPTER 11 The Sacred Text	188	(19)
CHAPTER 12 In the Court of King Hezekiah	207	(10)
CHAPTER 13 The Great Irony	217	(17)
CHAPTER 14 The World That the Bible Produced	234	(12)
APPENDIX	246	(15)
Identification of Authors of the Five Books of Moses	246	(10)
Notes on Identification of Authors	256	(5)
NOTES	261	(16)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY	277	(7)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	284	(3)
INDEX	287	(14)
MAPS	301